To me i think having 3G ipad if you have an iphone already is pointless. Cause if youre like me and have iphone and i literally always have my iphone one me. When im out its always with me. Im glad i returned mine and got the wifi one cause i realized that tethering takes 5secs and it saved $120. People say it drains the battery, yes but its not that bad, i can get a solid 6-7hrs usage using my iphone tethered and really how often do i need to use 3g for this long? never.

But the most importamt factor is not having a second data plan which im so happy about or having to swap sim cards.

Sent from my sexy black iPad 2 using iPF

I don't have a iPhone yet, was hoping for a iPhone 5 release but I do have a Droid X that I tether my ipd2 to and it works great. A matter of fact I'm tethering to it right now.

If you already have an iPhone (or any smartphone that can be tethered), having the iPad 3G is a bit overkill. But mostly, this is about money. A WIFI only cost less than a 3G... Wait a minute! The real saving is on the monthly cost, not on the initial purchase.

Here in Canada, with Rogers, you can have a data sharing plan between devices for 10$ per device + the plan itself. That means for a 1Gig/month at 30$, you have to add 10$/month for the iPad 3G to share that data plan. That's cheaper than 2 x 30$/month...

But in the end, it will cost you 120$/year to have an iPad 3G sharing your initial iPhone data plan...

Let's do some math: Assuming that you keep your iPad for 2 years...

Savings = (2 * (10$*12)) + 120$ = 360$...

Keep your iPad for 4 years (600$), using tethering and the iPad will be "free"!

Note: Tethering is free with a data plan of at least 1Gig/month... And I'm a lucky bast*** as I got a promotion for 6Gigs/month for 30$, 2 years ago...

VicoPad addict!

I have a non 3G iPad and use a 3G wireless "modem", basically a 3G phone without voice.

That way I can use the same 3G account for the iPad and my laptop.

Bought Palm Pre phone in May 2010 when I bought Ipad 1 because it came with free 2 year mobile hot spot. I doubt this will continue at contract renewal and phone needs to go anyhow LOL so I will have to make a decision. I use a phone for very little since Ipad is with me all the time. We also have wide wifi coverage in my small city--most everywhere you go plus available in DT square.

Tethering is a satisfactory experience for me, but if I'd had the money I would have bought the 3G model anyway.

Reasons?

Even if I chose not to use it, the 3G is there and ready as a backup with zero notice.

As little time as it takes, it is still a pain to fish out the iPhone. Not a big pain, just a little one, but still. I'll suffer with the iPhone's smaller screen (even if the iPad would be superior for the task), unless I'm actually going to sit down and use the iPad for several minutes.

The biggy. I really miss accurate GPS tracking on the iPad. It's not just about navigation. Star Walk, LighTrac, geotagging (Evernote, Camera), and the many other apps that are enhanced by or need a GPS to be practical. I had 3G on my iPad 1, so my expectations are already skewed towards this kind of function. I just didn't realize how skewed until I didn't have it anymore.

Originally Posted by twerppoet

Tethering is a satisfactory experience for me, but if I'd had the money I would have bought the 3G model anyway.

Reasons?

Even if I chose not to use it, the 3G is there and ready as a backup with zero notice.

As little time as it takes, it is still a pain to fish out the iPhone. Not a big pain, just a little one, but still. I'll suffer with the iPhone's smaller screen (even if the iPad would be superior for the task), unless I'm actually going to sit down and use the iPad for several minutes.

The biggy. I really miss accurate GPS tracking on the iPad. It's not just about navigation. Star Walk, LighTrac, geotagging (Evernote, Camera), and the many other apps that are enhanced by or need a GPS to be practical. I had 3G on my iPad 1, so my expectations are already skewed towards this kind of function. I just didn't realize how skewed until I didn't have it anymore.

How is it a paim? Edited by moderator: angry comments are frowned upon in these forums, restrain your anger or do not post, there will be no further warnings And it literally connects instantly.

Sent from my sexy black iPad 2 using iPF

Edited by Gabriel1

Originally Posted by Diane B

Bought Palm Pre phone in May 2010 when I bought Ipad 1 because it came with free 2 year mobile hot spot. I doubt this will continue at contract renewal and phone needs to go anyhow LOL so I will have to make a decision. I use a phone for very little since Ipad is with me all the time. We also have wide wifi coverage in my small city--most everywhere you go plus available in DT square.

I enjoyed my tiny PalmPre but not the overheating battery quirkiness whenever it is used as a hotspot. it was replaced twice and Verizon wants us all off the gravy train so they will offer nothing more. My iPhone 4S will ship on the 21st. The extra $20/mo to turn my iPhone into a hotspot would be great if it would use its unlimited data plan. It doesn't. I decided to get a Truconnect Mifi for now. I doubt I'll need more than that when I'm out and about and don't want to use my iPhone for online activities.

BTW, I do not trust public wifi - at all. I have way too much personal financial data and apps. I'll have to weigh out the value of gps when I upgrade to the iPad 3 next year. If I really love Siri, I might have to get the 3G (or 4G) model.

I'm using an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2 WiFi. My ONLY source of Internet access is through the phone, as I'm a wandering, retired, Oregon State Parks Volunteer Host, fulltime. I not only have the (Verizon) tethering plan subscription, but I also have the phone Jailbroken and can use some of the Unlimited Data pool by the use of MiWi, if I need to. 2 Gb can go up in a vapor pretty quickly.

And yes... the phone/pad tethering connection can be a bit tricky and step intensive. It's not ALWAYS "instantaneous." When using the paid tethering connection after having turned the pad off, or it having gone to sleep, I nearly ALWAYS have to stop WiFi, stop Tethering, restart WiFi, restart Tethering, (on the phone) and then go into the iPad's settings and connect. When using MiWi OnDemand, it's not so unreliable. Remember, I'm talking about Verizon's phone, perhaps ATT is different and better in this tethering respect.

A number of areas where I will spend a month or two at a time, are not very good speed-wise. I do have a cradle for the phone with an inductive antenna connection, fed to a Wilson booster, and that feeding an external directional antenna, but in spite of a good signal indication, throughput or up/down speed is sometimes pretty mediocre.

Works for me, and the alternatives are pretty terrible in themselves for various reasons.

Brian - Sent from my iPad using iPF

I have a first gen iPad WiFi only and an iPhone 3GS. That leaves me fewer options because the 3GS only supports bluetooth tethering. I've heard Bluetooth tethering is slower than WiFi and drains the battery. That leaves me with other options:

1. Upgrade to the new iPhone 4S
2. Get an different iPad with 3G
3. Buy a separate hotspot device

I'm leaning towards 1 above. AT&T will likely let me have an upgrade in the next couple months. I've long wanted to use my iPad when away from WiFi.